Jeremy Porter Road Blog

Road Blog: Wednesday October 19, 2016 - Providence, RI

Road Blog
October 19, 2016
AS220 – Providence, Rhode Island

Wednesday was a beautiful day. It was unseasonably warm and the sun was shining as we packed up and left our beach house AirBB. We stopped at the beach for a quick last look at the Atlantic then headed south towards New Hampshire. We stopped in Exeter, New Hampshire for a visit with Chris and Sasha from When Particles Collide, our pals from these parts who’d come to our show in Portland and invited us down for lunch. It was a small detour but we had the time and couldn’t pass up the rare opportunity to see our friends. Exeter is a cool little city with a lot of Revolution-era buildings and history. We met Chris and got a quick tour of the school where they live and work, then met up with Sasha and had a really nice lunch and visit. They are not only a fantastic band, but wonderful people, and we are so grateful that we got to see them a couple times this week and thankful for their support and hospitality. `Till next time guys! Xo!

Gabe was at the wheel for the 2+ hour drive through Massachusetts to Providence, Rhode Island. The drive was fairly painless except some congestion around Boston. We passed Bunker Hill and the Boston Tea Party ship before being sucked into the tunnels below the city and eventually coming out on the South Side. Before we knew it we were in Providence, another beautiful New England City with lots of trees and hills, big impressive houses, and narrow, tree-lined streets. Our first stop was Olympic Records, a small shop in a neighborhood south of downtown, where I picked up an original pressing of Slayer – Reign In Blood. They’re carrying our record Above The Sweet Tea Line now – so stop in and support them and get your copy if you’re in town!

We checked into our AirBB for a little chill time before the show. We are on the 3rd floor of a big house in a minimally appointed but clean and comfortable converted attic apartment. We each have our own room so we retreated into them for a bit and rested up, called home, worked, napped, listened to music, or whatever else needed doing. Patty was walking around in nothing except his underwear and Chuck Taylor shoes, declaring it was his new stage wear. I dared him to do it, but sadly, it was not to be.

Around 6:30 we headed downtown for dinner and ended up at the Trinity Brewhouse a couple blocks from the venue. We had an awesome server who was spunky and very knowledgeable about the menu and beers. I got a turkey burger on a pretzel bun that was ok – serviceable (as Gabe would say), but not life changing. Patty got a burger that he seemed to enjoy, and we got a plate of nachos that were an appetizer but oddly came after our meals. Gabe was going back and forth between a couple ambitious choices on the menu, then settled on the boring cobb wrap. I promptly gave him some shit and told him to live a little, so he changed it to the wild boar sausage platter. Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about! It was pretty good. We headed to the venue for load in a little bloated, but ready to play.

AS220 is a compound consisting of galleries, bars, restaurants and a music venue. The room was really cool – medium sized and square, with a great sound system and stage against the back wall. We loaded in, chatted with the local bands and manager/sound-engineer, and set up our merch. I went for a good walk to help that burger settle, then met up with Gabe and Patty at the bar where I started my night’s journey across every kind of rye whiskey they had available. The Sensitive Ferns played first to a good crowd. They were a newer band with a cool sound that reminded me at times of Edie Brickell and the New Bohemains, with extra distortion and effects on the guitar. We were up next and played a good set to a very attentive crowd. It was Patty’s 100th show as a Tuco so we used that as an excuse to put a little extra mustard in our set, not that we needed an excuse. AS220 has a strict no-covers policy because of an ASCAP/BMI boycott, so we swapped out the Cheap Trick song we’ve been playing on this run with Throwing Stones, the B-side of our 2014 singe and one of Patty’s favorites. It was a good, fun set and sounded great on stage. After us The Kick Ups played a great set. Nice dudes and a good band – a 3-piece like us – with vocal duties handled by the drummer.

We loaded out and grabbed a nightcap at the townie bar a couple doors down the block. The bartender was a colorful character of a woman, spinning profanity-laden yarns about Providence, the other customers, and her travels around the Rustbelt. She poured me a Maker's Mark on ice that was so massive I couldn’t even finish it. From there it was back to the AirBB and lights out.

Today we are off to New York City. It’s a weird thing, NYC. You kinda feel like you have to play there as a band, but it is a logistical nightmare and the payoff isn’t always worth it. The traffic and parking are horrible, it’s not safe for a van full of gear, the venues are apathetic at-best about your craft, and getting people out on a weeknight in a city with a million options is incredibly difficult. We’re going in with high hopes and chins up and looking forward to our show at the The Parkside Lounge tonight with The Reign (Feat. Joe Caravella).